Will "Fat" tax help fight obesity?

[Mike Hawkins]

http://money.aol.co.uk/2011/12/22/will-fat-tax-help-fight-obesity/?icid=maing-grid7%7Cuk-ws-bb%7Cdl4%7Csec1_lnk2%26pLid%3D89616

Or will it make no difference other than fill the coffers of the Exchequer?

Where will these taxes proposed by "experts" lead to? We already have extortionate taxes on alcohol, tobacco, driving. If this one also comes in, what will be next?

[charlie finbow]

You know what the Government are like Mike, tax everything and if they could find a way, Fresh Air would come into it.   There would be jobs created for nose measurers to go around with a tape measure checking on the size of hooters.   Guess i would be in a high tax range but I could argue I need a big nose to stop me being blind............It holds my glasses up.      .

[Tag]

We already have extortionate taxes on alcohol, tobacco, driving. If this one also comes in, what will be next?

So how would you prefer to see taxes raised then Mike?

[Mike Hawkins]

We already have extortionate taxes on alcohol, tobacco, driving. If this one also comes in, what will be next?

So how would you prefer to see taxes raised then Mike?

Taxes should be raised equally, not on chosen lifestyles.  Any lifestyle has its risks!  Why not put 100% taxes on people taking holidays abroad (on the grounds that the money they are spending abroad is depriving the UK economy); 100% taxes on foreign imports (they are depriving British companies and workers of revenue); a 500% tax on Bankers bonuses (they are, after all, the proceeds of crime); a 100% tax on MP's salaries (money obtained by deception!), etc, etc.

Tag, before you say these groups originally mentioned are costing the Uk money, I would reply that IF the taxes were used to counteract these, fair enough. BUT, we know that road taxes are NOT spent on roads, tobacco taxes are NOT spent on the treatment of alleged smoking related diseases (if this was the case lung cancer would have been eradicated by now), alcohol taxes are NOT spent on treating alcohol related problems. The revenues raised go into the general coffers, so all should pay, or these taxes should be ring fenced to pay only for the remediation of these lifestyles!!!

[Tag]

Tag, before you say these groups originally mentioned are costing the Uk money,

How very presumptive of you! 

[Tag]

I would reply that IF the taxes were used to counteract these, fair enough. BUT, we know that road taxes are NOT spent on roads, tobacco taxes are NOT spent on the treatment of alleged smoking related diseases (if this was the case lung cancer would have been eradicated by now), alcohol taxes are NOT spent on treating alcohol related problems. The revenues raised go into the general coffers, so all should pay, or these taxes should be ring fenced to pay only for the remediation of these lifestyles!!!

So answer my question then - how would you raise taxes?

Under the model you propose, then yeah, smokers with lung cancer and emphasema would have gold-plated health care and we'd all be driving on the best roads in the world.

So are you saying that if taxes have to be relevant to the service then we should tax school children for their education?  The genuinely sick and ill for hospital visits?  And only criminals for the prisons?!   Seems to me what you are suggesting is privatisation!

Taxes are there for two reasons, 1) to raise money for redistribution - entirely the opposite of what you argue for, and 2) to try and persuade the public to alter their behaviours.

The Government sees smoking a bad behaviour.  It won't criminalise it and create a black market so instead it tries to dissuade you from smoking through making it more expensive.   Same goes for all of it - if we had gold plated roads we'd all drive all the time - think of the pollution and need for more tarmac. 

So tell me Mike - how'd you fund the NHS and Education and the military and immigration controls and all the rest?